Football’s top division wasn’t even at full strength in 2023.
With better luck at the quarterback position, it could be quite a race for the AFC North title this season.
Lamar Jackson stayed healthy last year and won his second MVP, helping Baltimore to the best regular-season record in the league. Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson were less fortunate, and Pittsburgh’s passing situation was so unsatisfactory the Steelers made two significant additions at QB. Still, every team in the division finished above .500, and all have the potential to succeed in 2024 if they can keep their key players on the field.
The Baltimore Ravens were even better than their 13-4 record suggested in the 2023 regular season. They only faced three teams that finished with a losing record, and they never faced a double-digit deficit until the fourth quarter of a Week 18 game that was meaningless for them.
Although the stars seemed to be aligning, the Ravens ultimately fell short of the Super Bowl, losing at home to Kansas City in the AFC championship game. Coach John Harbaugh began training camp this season by saying Jackson can become the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
“I’m not the GOAT, Tom Brady the GOAT. Tom Brady the GOAT,” Jackson said. “Yes, I believe that’s motivation. I appreciate that. I’m still on my way.”
Patrick Mahomes is the quarterback Jackson couldn’t quite get past last season, and now he’ll have to hold off Burrow, who took Cincinnati to a Super Bowl and two AFC title games before wrist problems derailed him last year. Meanwhile, the Browns have Watson back after they had to start five quarterbacks in 2023. Cleveland overcame that, making a late run to the playoffs behind Joe Flacco.
The Pittsburgh Steelers snuck in the playoffs as well — then blew up their quarterback room after another early postseason exit. They cut Mitch Trubisky, let Mason Rudolph walk in free agency and traded Kenny Pickett to Philadelphia after two middling seasons.
Pittsburgh acquired Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and hired offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. All three of them are eyeing career resets after forgettable exits from their previous stops.
Ravens try to reload
Baltimore added running back Derrick Henry in the offseason, but the Ravens lost three starters on the offensive line, plus standout linebacker Patrick Queen and pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney.
They also have a new defensive coordinator after Mike Macdonald left to become the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. The Ravens promoted from within, tapping Zach Orr to fill that spot.
Baltimore led the league in sacks, scoring defense and takeaways a season ago.
A pivotal season
The Browns went all in when they traded for Watson, signing him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in 2022.
They’re waiting for it to pay off, and time is running out.
In two seasons, Watson has only played in 12 games and the Browns made the playoffs last year without him as the 38-year-old Flacco rode in from New Jersey on his couch and went 4-1 with 1,616 yards passing in five games.
Watson’s health holds the key to Cleveland’s season. But the Browns have a stronger backup plan behind him after signing Jameis Winston (80 NFL starts) and Tyler Huntley to go along with second-year QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
The offense has been redesigned to better fit Watson’s unique skills, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be as much of a running threat following shoulder surgery.
Led by Myles Garrett, Cleveland’s defense carried the Browns through the morass of injuries last season. Garrett was more dominant than ever, recording 14 sacks while winning AP Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Blue-collar Steelers
While the faces may be different, Pittsburgh’s path to contention remains the same as it has been over the last half-decade: control the clock with the running game and hope the star-laden defense led by T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick does the rest.
Watt and Fitzpatrick will be joined this season by Queen. The former Raven has embraced being on the other side of one of the NFL’s biggest rivalries and he may give Pittsburgh the playmaker it has needed in the middle of the defense since Ryan Shazier’s career ended with a spinal injury in 2017.
The schedule is brutal late, meaning the Steelers’ best chance to return to the top of the division could rely on a hot start that may require Wilson to get the offense up to speed quickly after he was limited by a calf injury in the preseason.
Plenty of help
Burrow will have two familiar targets in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who is playing with a franchise tag and probably won’t be back with the Bengals next season. Zack Moss was picked up from the Indianapolis Colts to replace Joe Mixon at running back, and the Bengals got an upgrade at tight end when they signed the 6-foot-6, 252-pound Mike Gesicki, formerly of the Patriots.
Longtime offensive coordinator Brian Callahan departed to become head coach of the Tennessee Titans, but there will still be familiarity with Dan Pitcher, who was promoted to coordinator after four seasons as quarterbacks coach.
The Cincinnati defense had a tendency to give up explosive plays in 2023. The Bengals are hoping Cam Taylor-Britt will lock in at cornerback after being moved from safety. The addition of former Ravens defensive back Geno Stone and the return of Vonn Bell is expected to stabilize the safety position.
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Predicted order of finish
Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Browns.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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AP Sports Writers Will Graves, Mitch Stacy and Tom Withers contributed to this report.
